I'd like to leave this world like I came into it: Screaming, naked & covered in someone else's blood

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Dec 2005

Location

Essex

Posts

3,794

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BJJ

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Help needed sorting out a routine

Hi guys, I've only recently started using weights and don't really know what I'm doing. I've been reading the forums and magazines to get better educated on what I should be doing but I thought I'd run it by you lot. I'm going to be doing weights 3 times a week as of next month and want to know what exercises I should be doing. Is 3 times a week enough to be concentrating on certain muscle groups each time or should I have a big workout that does everything and do that 3 times a week?

Hi guys, I've only recently started using weights and don't really know what I'm doing. I've been reading the forums and magazines to get better educated on what I should be doing but I thought I'd run it by you lot. I'm going to be doing weights 3 times a week as of next month and want to know what exercises I should be doing. Is 3 times a week enough to be concentrating on certain muscle groups each time or should I have a big workout that does everything and do that 3 times a week?

I really have no idea so any help would be greatly appreciated.

What kind of shape are you in now? For example, how long could you run at a decent pace ? To test yourself quickly, do a 12 minute all out run a treadmill and let us know how much distance you can cover.

The regularity of workouts depends on your schedules and personal life, I myself fit Weight sessions around judo, and attend the gym 3/4 times a week doing a 2.5 hour general CV and weight lifting session.

I'd like to leave this world like I came into it: Screaming, naked & covered in someone else's blood

Join Date

Dec 2005

Location

Essex

Posts

3,794

Style

BJJ

--

I lost a hell of a lot of weight when I was training MT and fought at 85kg. I'm currently walking around at 90kg and would like to bulk up a little. I've got a little bit of flab round my middle but am otherwise pretty athletic lookg; I just don't have much muscle.

I do BJJ 3/4 times a week and would be going to the gym 3 times. I do sprint work and regular jogging too when I can so I'm in reasonable shape.

My sprints consist of jogging for 2 mins and sprinting for 30 secs. I can usually get 10 sprints before I'm done.

Besides your weight, could you tell us your height and age? Without your height, we cannot really tell if 90kg is normal, too little or too much. And age is a factor when you lift weights.

And by knowing your weight and height, we may be able to tell if you are eating too little or too much. Nutrition is important, and if you are lifting weights with the purpose of gaining lean muscle (not just weight, but lean muscle), bad nutrition will kill your efforts.

In any case, lifting 3 times a week is a sensible way to start so long as it doesn't interrupt your weekly 3/4 BJJ classes, work and stuff. If you jog and sprint regularly, that would suggest you are in good shape, btw.

There are many ways to go around this, but the simplest thing would be for you to stick with basic compound exercises:

I did not include regular bench presses at all. They can really screw your shoulders on the long term, but I've found incline bench presses, dips and push ups to be a lot more forgiving while still being effective.

Another thing you do not want to forget is to work your forearms. Get a nice wrist roller or a CoC trainer and use it a couple of times a week at a different time from your weightlifting and BJJ training.

Don't over complicate your training; keep it simple for a month or two. Then you can come back and ask for ways to improve your weight lifting routine.

For now, I would do it like this (with a light warm up and stretching before doing anything else):

Why 3-4 sets, 10 reps each? Oh, I dunno. The thing is that it is really hard to give a precise formula without actually seeing you perform. But since what you are looking for is for a guideline for learning and experimenting with weights, such a number of reps would be good as any. Make sure to increase the weights a little bit (5lbs for example) every other week.

Again, it's until later that you will need to change this to force your body into adapting.

The street argument is retarded. BJJ is so much overkill for the street that its ridiculous. Unless you're the idiot that picks a fight with the high school wrestling team, barring knife or gun play, the opponent shouldn't make it past double leg + ground and pound - Osiris

I started a routine based around the exrx.net suggestions I got from Oldman34 who got the site from ElMacho. They have alot of information, good exercise routines and animated gifs. Some clearer videos would be nice but it is a start. So far I do a 2 day split, 4 times a week
BXABXXA
A:
BenchPress (though I may reconsider based on El Macho's comments)
InclinePress
ShoulderPress
Calf Raises
Squats/Lunges
TricepPress
B:
Hamstrings
UpperBack (lat pulldowns)
Abdominals
UprightRows
Curls
BentOverRow

Then I train Judo or BJJ 2-4 times a week.

I am 31 5'10'' 207lbs. So for all my factors, I don't feel this routine is over doing it. From my scant knowlesge, it seems the old saying "Listen to your body" is quite meaningful. My first week I just got the weight amounts right. Now I am just barely pushing out the last reps of the last set.